I received these two books from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Because these two books are part of the same series and each galley only contained the first story, I decided to combine my reviews into one post.

In this mischievous and
utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story
and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the
siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the
true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and
outwitted witches. Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or
subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies
and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.

More Grimm tales await in the harrowing, hilarious companion to a beloved new classic. Take caution ahead— Oversize plant life, eerie amphibious royalty, and fear-inducing creatures abound. Lest you enter with dread. Follow
Jack and Jill as they enter startling new landscapes that may (or may
not) be scary, bloody, terrifying, and altogether true. Step lively, dear reader . . . Happily ever after isn’t cutting it anymore.

In
this companion novel to Adam Gidwitz’s widely acclaimed, award-winning
debut, A Tale Dark & Grimm, Jack and Jill explore a new set of tales
from the Brothers Grimm and others, including Jack and the Beanstalk
and The Frog Prince.

I loved the introduction and the first story in both of these books (there are
nine stories in the first book and 13 in the second). The narrator is fun, witty, and biting all at the
same time. Although the narrator is nothing like Lemony Snicket from the
Series of Unfortunate Events books, there is something in the tone or
pace of this book that reminds me of Snicket. Although I did not have
the opportunity to meet Hansel and Gretel or Jack and Jill, because they are not in their respective book's
first story, I have confidence that they are going to be interesting
characters based on how the characters in the first story written (I am
assuming that the characters that we meet in the books' first stories are somehow
related to Hansel & Gretel and Jack & Jill, respectively).

One thing that endeared
this book to my heart immediately was that the narrator states in the
beginning that fairy tales were bloody and gruesome when they were
written, which is completely true. Cinderella's step-sisters cut their
feet to fit into the glass slipper. Rapunzel's witch discovered Rapunzel
was spending time with a prince, because Rapunzel commented one day
that her dress was getting tight. With the tone set that fairy tales are
not so clean cut, I have a feeling that the rest of the book will be
fairly true (pun intended) to the spirit of Grimm's tales and lots of
fun.

Note: As I stated in my review, the narrator refers to blood and potential violence. Because I could not review either of these books in their entirety, I cannot confirm or deny the appropriate age level for this series. They seem perfectly fantastic, and I want to read them; however, I would want to read through both books before giving them to a younger reader.

I love the darker Grimm stories too. I was slowly working my way through all the Grimm fairies tales, but they started to sound the same (the book grouped the stories together by theme, so I read like 10 stories in the row about a girl and her 10 brothers who were turned into some sort of bird), so I stopped. I need to pick them up again.

I felt like I should review them, since I downloaded the galleys, but it was weird that I only got the first chapter for each of them. In the future, I probably won't review a book like this again. You live and learn.

I've never heard of only giving you part of a book for a Galley - that really makes it hard to review, but you did an excellent job. I love the darker version of fairy tales and wonder if these will get really dark and gory like in the original Grimm's! I'll have to check them out I guess to find out.